Funding
In New Zealand, a range of funding opportunities exist to support your involvement in Para sport.
Funding opportunities are offered by a variety of organisations with specific mandates and interests. As such, opportunities for funding will differ depending upon your level of representation, where you live, and your impairment type.
In the majority of cases, it is the responsibility of Para athletes to source the most up to date and correct information and application forms for funding opportunities. It is also the responsibility of individual Para athletes to complete and submit their own applications.
This section provides several examples of funding opportunities we are currently aware of. Please use this page as a guide to potential funding opportunities, and not a definitive list, as more opportunities may be available from other sources. If you are aware of additional funding sources not listed on this website, please contact us.
You may also wish to browse the Sport New Zealand Funding search portal for a wider range of potential sport and recreation funding sources. There is a list of disability grants and scholarships on the First Port website.
PNZ Cyril Smith Legacy Fund
If you live in or represent the Canterbury region, or are an organisation that supports Para athletes in the region, the PNZ Cyril Smith Legacy Fund may be a great funding opportunity for you.
Cyril Smith's Legacy
In 2014 Paralympics New Zealand was bequeathed $1 million by Christchurch philanthropist Cyril Smith to further assist with the training and development of Para athletes in the Canterbury region. With this money, we have set up the PNZ Cyril Smith Legacy Fund which is open to applications from Para athletes in Canterbury three times a year. To date Cyril Smith’s legacy has contributed to the development of regional Para swimming, Para cycling and Para athletics and Boccia programmes.
By removing barriers to participation and ensuring Para athletes have access to experienced coaches and support staff, dozens of Para athletes have been able to discover, and continue along, the Para sport pathway. The fund has directly supported a number of individual Para athletes, coaches and Para sport organisations. ParaFed Canterbury is a regular recipient of the fund and this has had an overwhelmingly positive impact for their members.
“ParaFed Canterbury provides Para sport and recreation opportunities for people with a physical impairment in the Canterbury region. The programmes and services we offer are life changing and we put a large emphasis on young people.
The Cyril Smith Legacy Fund has enabled not only ParaFed Canterbury to deliver our programmes and services but for individuals to realise their sporting dreams. The name Cyril Smith lives on in the hearts and minds of all those that have been recipients of the fund and has ensured that many barriers to participation have been removed and that all people with a physical impairment who want to reach their sporting goals have the same opportunities as their able bodied counterparts.“
Ken Sowden, Operations Manager ParaFed Canterbury
Cyril Smith gave generously throughout his life, however the money he bequeathed to the Canterbury region was his legacy. This legacy lives on, funding the dreams of Para athletes and knocking down barriers to participation in sport for Para athletes for many years to come.
Read more about the Cyril Smith Legacy Fund in the information sheet below:
Applications are now being accepted. The next closing date is 28 February 2025. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact [email protected].
Other Funds
High Performance Sport New Zealand Funding
High Performance Para athletes may also be eligible for Tailored Athlete Pathway Support (TAPS), which support the performance and wellbeing of athletes in the New Zealand high performance sport environment. It replaces the previous system of Carded Athletes and Performance Enhancement Grants (PEGs) for athletes.
Base Training Grants or Development Grants
A Base Training Grant or Development Grant for eligible pathway athletes is not based on performance and aims to provide a level of financial security and support athlete wellbeing. These are intended as stable and dependable multi-year grants to give athletes a platform to grow their performance across the cycle, and ideally achieve performance levels eligible for Excellence Grants.
Excellence Grants
Excellence Grants (EGs) are grants that recognise an individual’s or team’s performance excellence and are designed to support further performance excellence from them. Excellence Grants are offered to a Probable or Convert TAPS athlete over and above their Base Training Grant if they achieve an agreed performance standard at their agreed Excellence Grant qualifying event.
Medical Insurance Premiums
TAPS eligible athletes may also be eligible for fully funded medical insurance.
Prime Minister’s Scholarships
Athletes eligible for TAPS have the opportunity to apply for a Prime Minister’s Athlete Scholarship to support educational or professional opportunities that enable them to develop holistically outside sport, in ways that may contribute to their post-athletic career.
